Ten Years of Wild Douglas County!

Welcome to 10 years of Ken’s book Wild Douglas County. To celebrate, he’ll be sharing special events during the coming year, and you can also buy a signed copy of the book for a celebratory price of $15 + $2 shipping (regular price: $20). Click here to purchase your copy via Paypal.

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Kaw Valley Almanac

Ken Lassman has been keeping this almanac for over a decade, He invites you to share your observations and photos in the comments section. You can find his book Wild Douglas County at The Raven Bookstore and The Community Mercantile in Lawrence.

Just Doing That Moon: March

The Osage’s name, Just Doing That Moon, refers to the tempestuous nature of the weather this time of year that can swing from a late winter blizzard to a hot balmy day, and the accompanying observation that whatever the conditions are, they will soon change. As a result, there are few months that change as much as this month, with early spring flowers and frogs emerging, birdsong transforming the mornings, moths heralding the return of the insect world, maple and elm pollen and flowers bursting on the scene, and a host of other forms of life springing to life.

Some ecologists observe that in this part of the planet, the prevernal time of emergence from winter constitutes a fifth season, easily distinguished from the more pervasive traditional spring that unfurls in April and May, and I’d have to agree. This year, the late winter has pushed the beginning of the prevernal season from February into March; the soils are still abnormally dry from an more arid than usual fall, which could further delay the more traditional spring. Time will tell whether it catches up this month.